Movement's Modern History Told in New Tome

Author Paul Thompson drew on interviews and the written record in research for his latest book on credit unions.

A credit union historian and former CUNA speechwriter has authored a new book on the modern credit union movement.

The 369-page book – Development of the Modern U.S. Credit Union 1970-2010 – is by Paul Thompson, a certified Credit Union Development Educator who served as a speechwriter at CUNA from 1986 to 1998.

The book examines the technology changes, legal and regulatory changes, competitive pressures and other factors that have seen the industry grow from small, limited-service institutions run by volunteers to full-service, professionally staffed operations that now serve more than 90 million members.

Thompson draws on the industry’s extensive written record and his own interviews with credit union leaders as he looks at the movement’s involvement in the nation’s economic life, including inflation in the 1970s, the saving and loan collapse in the 1980s and the recession of 2007-2009.

Thompson’s latest book is available in softcover and e-book version at lulu.com.